Aurora Summoner
by PeppermintWings
Summary: After the devastating loss of her guild, Nina Leclair, a Summoning Wizard, vows revenge on an unknown Dark Mage when the Magic Council is unable to revive her guild members. Homeless, penniless, and guildless, she wounds up in Magnolia where she is taken in by Fairy Tail after stealing a S-Ranked Job Request from Fairy Tail's Request Board.


I looked up at the magic council, hating their expressions of pity. My face was now worn expressionless, unable to burden myself with the thought of tears. Each council member breathed me in, casting bored or confused gazes down upon me. Their eyes lingered on my face, clinking their tongues as they roamed over the cuts and bruises that decorated my skin. There wasn't an inch of me unmarred; the cuts were a crisscrossed lace that dressed my neck, my arms, my legs... Each movement on my part caused my breath to hitch; a swift intake of air resulted in a strained huff. Even a simple lean of balance to my right leg enticed a quick gasp followed by a gritting of teeth

Unable to bear their silence any longer, I balled a hand that wasn't trapped in a splint and struck the railing they had placed me behind for this hearing.

"When can I see my family?!" I demanded, frowning as the council finally acknowledged me.

A woman raised her hand to silence my demands, an action that only made my anger swell tighter within me. She was elderly, her grey eyes holding a wisdom under her silver hair.

"Your guild is being kept in a private floor within the council hall. You may visit them when the interrogation is over. Let us ask you again now, where were you when the devastation struck?" she queried. Her voice was clipped, professional.

In a situation like mine, how could they stay so calm when I hid a storm? There were a thousand more important things they could be doing in this moment than question an injured mage. Their idiocy was an amplifier for my anger.

"I've told you a million times already!" I shouted at them, my hair flying over my shoulders as I leaned towards them to scream. "I was at the Town Square! My brothers had sent me to retrieve a dozen phoenix potions and told me not to arrive back at the guildhall until I had what they asked for. Ita followed me."

"And you claim that this was a ruse to get you away from your guildhall, correct?" another council member asked, his voice just as clipped at the woman.

"Yes!" I huffed, exasperated.

"Was it to keep you away from an enemy?" he inquired.

"No," I snapped. Worn and tired, I shuffled a hand through my hair as I tried to collect my anger, tried to explain.

I looked down at my hands, spotting the cuts and the bruises and the gold charm bracelet on my splintered left wrist. It was healing wrong or healing too slow. The healing mages had snapped my wrist back together but it was still swollen and bright red, slightly irritated by the golden chain I wore. I couldn't take it off, staring solemnly at the lone gold charm that had remained on the chain. A shuddery breath entered my mouth as I forced my eyes to hold back my tears.

"They were going to throw a surprise party...for me," I cried out, my bottom lip quivering. "I didn't realize until I walked back into the guildhall. And by that time, they were encased in crystals. Each and every one of them."

My stomach turned at the memory as I gripped the wooden railing before me in the trial room.

"And then someone had approached you..." they urged.

I nodded. "Yes. I ran between the crystals, looking for someone who wasn't encased and found my parents' crystal. I ran to them and tried to get them out but nothing would work. Books and papers were scattered everywhere and then someone approached me from behind. They demanded to know who I was until they saw my charm bracelet."

"Ah," the old woman sighed. "They figured out you were a Summoning Wizard."

My bottom lip quivered harder. "Yes, and the remaining child of Asha and Orion. I was the only guild member missing during his attack...and the weakest one, too."

"What did this man look like?"

"I couldn't tell," I huffed, growing angry. " He wore a black and gold cloak, his face obscured by the hood and the only thing I could see were his red eyes."

The memory of him was too raw in my head.

His fingers had tightened around my neck as he pushed me against a wall, demanding to know where the book was. I had thrashed against his hold, his form overpowering my small frame. He flattened a rough hand against my stomach and from his palm he released a dark magic, enticing a scream from my lips. The wall behind me crack at the force of the magic, leaving me crippled at his feet as he released my throat.

"_Where is the book?_" he demanded. His voice was grating and rough, like thunder mixed with a cacophony of scrapes.

"_I don't know!_" I screamed, my voice hoarse from when he grabbed me.

"I_'ve no mercy for the Monarch's daughter, so unless you want to live you will tell me exactly where the private library is!_" he ordered, grabbing me again, this time by my hair.

"_I don't know where it is!_" I sobbed, trying to ignore the pain.

He had flattened his palm against me again, spinning me away from the wall. This time his magic threw me against the floor, splintering the wooden floor. I screamed as my back exploded in white-hot pain but my attacker flew right to me and stomped on my abdomen, his heel pushing me through the floor and into the lower level of the guild hall. I screamed in pain as the wood tore my body, my own clothes tearing into shreds, barely clinging on.

"_WHERE IS THE BOOK?_" he growled. His hand gripped my throat again as he lifted me up, pushing me against the wall as his fist charged with dark magic...until he realized he hadn't pushed me up against a wall but a bookshelf instead. He released me, gazing at the room in awe as he cackled. Red eyes grazed over the book shelves, searching for his prize as I clutched my throat, struggling to breathe. Forceful hands dove into the shelves, flinging them about as pages and scrolls scattered over my limp body like a blanket.

"_Gold cover...gold cover..._" he repeated to himself softly, flinging books aside that didn't carry his approval.

I struggled to lean on my forearms as I turned over, gasping sharply at the pain that invaded every part of my body. My olive palm stretched out towards him, my fingers slightly separated as I took aim.

"_Aerial Gust!"_ I cried out. Wind surrounded me and knocked the man into a bookshelf as one of the charms on my bracelet glowed with the command. Books flew everywhere as books and scrolls toppled over their tables. The man grunted in brief pain before laughing as he turned towards me.

"_I didn't think you had it in you, little butterfly. I should have expected more endurance from the Monarch's daughter,_" he cackled as he strolled towards me. His movements were swift as he brought a leg forward to kick my side. My screams echoed throughout the library before he reached down to cup my face. "_However, you're not nearly as strong as me, thanks to Inheritance._"

My eyes widened.

"_Oh, yes, little butterfly. I know all about the cons of being a Summoner, and you can't reach your true potential until one by one your family fall like flies. And without them here, you can't group cast, either. You're only a fraction of your mother. Besides, what's a Summoner without her bracelet?_" he laughed. In the next instant he brought a foot down on my wrist, breaking it along with the charms on my bracelet. My screams tangled with his laugh as he continued to search for the book, leaving me half dead on the floor.

I was on the edge of consciousness when he came back to me, shaking me roughly until he threw me against a shelf where most of the books lied on the ground.

"_WHERE IS THE DAMN BOOK?_"

"_I don't know..._" I said weakly.

"_You're lucky I don't have the strength to encase you like the others, but if you don't tell me where the book is you'll suffer something worse than death!_"

"_I've no idea...what you're talking about..._"

His fist was inflamed with dark energy as he brought it down on my stomach again.

"Nina," a council member interrupted, "Are you alright?"

I shuddered out of the memory, my hand finding its way to my stomach, already aware of the rainbow of bruises that colored my skin. I winced as my fingers lightly crossed over the thin fabric and the wet bandages. Did my wound reopen?

"Yes," I winced, raking a hand through my hair as I collected my thoughts. My eyes rose to meet theirs. "What did you ask me?"

"You said he was searching for a book. What book?" they asked.

"I don't know," I sighed, trying to rack my brain for any information the attacker might have slipped. . "He just kept saying _gold cover, gold cover_."

"That _certainly_ narrows it down," a councilman huffed. I pulled my lips into a tight line; I wasn't in the mood for sarcasm.

"When he couldn't find it," I snapped, "he destroyed my charms and continued to pummel me before the council guards arrived. My attacker left before the Rune Knights could get to me. All I can tell you is that this man practices dark magic and you should be figuring out a way to save my guild instead of questioning me!"

"Nina," the old lady said softly. "We are doing all that we can, but all of Aurora Wing is encased in Crystallized Ore." The council's expressions hardened, watching me carefully.

"I don't understand," I huffed, frustration building. My head whipped to look at all of the council, my eyes frantic as I gripped the railing.

"Crystallized Ore is a byproduct of certain dark magic that requires large amounts of energy. Based on our reports, you, too, were supposed to be encased but due to your absence at your guild hall, you were the only one unaffected. I doubt most members knew what was happening when it did, since the speed of the spell is amazingly swift. The problem is that Crystallized Ore is a very strong, very durable metal. We have the best mages and researchers working on the ore but we're afraid that progress has been close to none..." she trailed. Swiftly she looked at her fellow council members, hiding an exasperated huff of air.

A chill was felt through the room as I choked on the tension. The look the councilwoman shared with the others froze my core.

"There's something you're not telling me!" I shouted, leaning over the railing. Their sad expressions met my glare. "What aren't you telling me?" I demanded.

The woman's expressions softened as she rose from her seat. Her silvery hands were wrapped around the pile of papers that were set before her. After adjusting her glasses, she picked up a scroll and rolled it out to read it to me.

"This is a collective report, Nina, based on the researchers and the council guards. It was made in the two days that you were unconscious when the Rune Knights brought you to our head quarters.

"Ok?" I queried, rubbing a hand over my sore wrist, waiting.

"'_Crystallized Ore requires mass amounts of energy and many dark mages have died over its creation. It is quite similar to the technique Iced Shell of ice mages. However, where Iced Shell relies on the sacrifice of a person's spirit, Crystallized Ore relies on the embodiment of a mage's magic energy. If one was not strong enough to endure the physical and mental take of the ore, the mage themselves would have turned into the crystallized byproduct, weak, and their target could easily escape from the ore. However, if a mage did have the strength to expend such energy, their magic would materialize into the ore rather than the mage itself, and encase their enemies, proving to be a durable and indestructible metal. Upon Nina's original report when first recovered from the destroyed guild hall of Aurora Wing, it is conclusive that her attacker planned to capture all of Aurora Wing's guild members in one fell swoop. However, with Nina not there, she managed to avoid the attack. But when she returned to the Guild Hall, she was attacked brutally by the unknown attacker. The fact that she was not encased too in Crystallized Ore leads us to believe that her attacker did not have enough magic energy to pursue the spell, instead attacking Aurora Wing's weakest member with two or three low-energy required magic spells before reducing to pure physical strength towards the arrival of the Rune Knights. Upon more research of Crystallized Ore, it is discovered that the ore is a class A draining spell.'_"

It was too much...too much to absorb. My whole body shook.

A...class A...draining spell...

_No..._

"I don't understand!" I shout, pounding my bruised fists against the railing.

"Nina," a council member said softly.

"No!" I shout. "You don't have enough evidence!"

"Nina!" the councilwoman said sharply, taking her glasses off.

"Stop!" I begged, slapping my hands over my ears. "Stop it! Stop it!"

"We're doing everything we can...but the ore is much too strong...it's impenetrable."

"STOP!" I screamed. My hands slapped against the railing, my feet kicked at the wood, my hair was a whirlwind.

They didn't try and curb my anger; I was about as powerful as an apprentice. Besides, all but one charm was broken, and I didn't have the strength to Summon. In the state my body was in, I would be surprised if I could make a rock move.

My body and soul shook as I clung to railing, sobbing madly as I tried to support my frame. I fell to my knees and screamed, trying to numb myself as my arms wrapped over my abdomen. Every heave of a breath was a knife, cutting and slicing and tearing. Everything was breaking into a hundred pieces, my heart cracking and splintering, a mirrored image of my soul. A timeless cold crept slowly in, numbing every inch of my body. None of my bodily injuries could match the pain in my heart. I was hysterical, beyond the point of sanity as the council members looked on, their tongues clicking with remorse as they fought to understand the pain that was wrought upon me.

_My guild..._

_They're going to die._

"Nina," they demanded softly, trying to pull me out of my pain.

Their words were lost as I wept, my forehead kissing the railing as I watched the floor.

"Nina," they tried again, trying to get me to listen. "We understand your pain, but there are important things we need to know about your situation."

They understood? They understood the pain of knowing your guild was going to die? That each one of them were to spend the rest of their days in ore, their souls and magic sucked out of them while I stood on the outside, fighting to stay sane? If they knew anything they would leave me in my pain. Their soft cries for the Nina they knew moments ago were gone as they struggled to try and regrasp my sanity.

The woman council member stepped down from her balcony and tried to walk to me, assisted by a guard. She stood over me, unsure where to place her hands..._On her head? On her shoulder? On her back?_ She clenched her fist and released, unused to the current of emotions.

_She knew my parents...That's why she's trying to help me..._

She was about to place a hand on my head when I bolted upright, maneuvering away from her and the guard and straight for the door out the room.

"Nina!" The council members screamed but the silvery woman held up her hand.

"You all know where she's going. Leave her be," she said softly. Her words were on my back as I narrowly avoided the guards trying to capture me at the door.

Nina, weakest but quickest of Aurora Wing. I would have laughed if not for the crushing sobs that hovered on my throat as I descended a flight of stairs.

I saw them earlier...saw the Rune Knights carrying the ore into a room as they hauled me upstairs in front of the council members despite already answering so many questions from the them. My hands gripped my abdomen as I ran, my limp so apparent as I nearly tumbled down the stairs. Each step was a cry of its own, wrenching and painful. The guards were still hauling ore-encased bodies and when they noticed my presence they tried to stop me but I slipped out of their arms and through the waiting, metal doors.

The sight of my family, my friends...made me collapse, crying out. All of them... all seventy of them lied in here. Half of them were smiling while the other half had a worried expression, alert to the last moment when they sensed darkness. Most of them adorned party hats, confetti sparkling in their hair. I stumbled to a stand, running to the nearest crystal as I hissed at the pain on my side.

_My wound definitely opened up..._

"_Kyra,_" I sobbed, my dear friend. She held a birthday cake and smiled at me, her eyes closed as she ready to shout a song. Then another crystal caught my eye and I ran there.

"_Cross,_" I cried. He wore his signature scowl but was trapped in an eternal stance of looking over his shoulder, feeling the beginning of darkness' presence. He must have tried to warn the other before they were encased.

I ran between the crystals, sobbing their names as I placed my hands on the ores, trying to stir them out.

Until finally I found them.

Their ore was one mass, joining them together. The three of them had their messy hair and cheesy smiles, alcohol in hand and party hats slightly askew. They leaned roughly on one another, caught mid-joke as two of them beamed the beginnings of a laugh while the other jab a finger at his own chest. Two of them held tight onto little presents in their other hands, careful to not spill ale on it.

"No..." I coughed, my palms kissing the ore. Leif...Windsor...Aron...

"No!" I shouted, slapping my palms against the ore. My fists pounded over and over again as I shouted for my brothers. The sheer crystal was too hard and it wasn't long before my fists were bleeding. Their olive skin mocked me. Here we were, separated by a mere three inches of ore and I couldn't reach them. Desperate, I placed a fist over the other swung by joined hands harder into the ore, screaming and screaming, begging them to stop playing around and to come out the ore.

I only stopped when I heard a wet splintering, screaming seconds later when my wrist was inflamed with pain. It was bent at an uncomfortable angle, the makeshift splint that was on it before now resting on the ground, broken.

I couldn't reach them...would never be able to reach them ever again.

This was the last I would see of their lazy smiles, their youth eternal as their souls would be drained slowly from their bodies. This would be the last I would see of my brothers.

"Nina..." the councilwoman said behind me.

"Leave me alone," I cried as I continued to slam against the ore, kicking it and punching it with my unbroken hand. .

"Nina, stop...your hands."

I looked down briefly, seeing my blood fall more prominently. I only hissed in anger, ignoring it as I slammed by shoulders into the ore instead.

Two Rune Knights approached me trying to pry me away as I thrashed. They took my arms and I nearly gave up until I saw the crystal behind my brothers'.

There they were, the two of them. The man was caught mid-action of wrapping a protective arm around his wife. The woman, genuinely confused, had a lazy smile on her face, a birthday present held tightly in her olive hands.

"Mom...dad..." I sobbed. With the final last bit of my energy I tore from the guards and collapsed in front of them, my forehead kissing the ore.

"Why did you throw a surprise party?! Everyone at one place makes you all easy targets!" I screamed. "Now all of you are going to die and I'll be all alone! No guild...no home...no family!"

"The Masters of Aurora Wing," the councilwoman said softly, looking away for a second.

"Nina!" a new voice interrupted. I turned quickly, meeting wide blue eyes and gray fur. Her small frame flew into me as she rushed into my arms. "You need to stop! You're bleeding too much!"

"Ita!" I exclaimed, my arms wrapping protectively around the tiny, flying cat.

"Please, stop!" Ita begged. "You're losing a lot of blood!"

"How did you get away?" I cried, burying my face in her fur.

"You sent me away? Remember? You used your magic to blow me out the doors when you were attacked. Nina! Your injuries!" she exclaimed.

I looked back down at my abdomen, blood cutting through my clothes and through my bandages. It had reopened...All the strenuous flailing and slamming must have...

"Ita, I can't—"

"Stop it, Nina! What use will you be if you're dead?! You're using too much energy trying to break them free! You just need to accept that fact that we can't do anything! Not like this!"

"Ita, every moment in that ore is another breath robbed from them!" I shouted.

"But you can't do anything, Nina! Your connections to your Summons are gone. You need to stop!"

I took another breath to argue but I grew increasing faint, dizzy.

"Ita—" I sobbed.

_I've been running on hysteria for way too long..._

_Am I falling? The crystals are sideways..._

"Grab her! She's lost too much blood!" the councilwoman shouted to the Rune Knights.

"Nina!" Ita shouted.

_I feel as light...as a pair of wings...as feathers...flakes of gold..._

My thoughts rambled as I was carried off, pain growing like a wildfire.

The blood that dripped from my body kissed the ground before my parents...my brothers...my friends...

Ita was right...I couldn't save them...not like this...

They were encased in that ore because of me...because they wanted to celebrate my life...my birthday...

A whole guild was being wiped out before my own eyes. And what could I do?

How long would it be...before each and everyone of them was dead?

"Call for the healer!" the silvery woman shouted. "Nina...I'm so sorry. I wish there was a way to help your guild but there isn't. The magic at our disposal is not strong enough to combat the ore."

Her words were growing softer as I started to fall into a hole.

"I'm...going...to save them," I sighed before the abyss took me.

"Nina!" Ita cried. "Wake up!"

"I won't let him take their lives..."

_Wake up!_

_Wake...Up..._

_Wake..._

_W..._


End file.
